Indiana WBB’s Ali Patberg Drafted by Indiana Fever in 3rd Round of WNBA Draft
The Indiana Fever selected Indiana Women’s Basketball Super Senior Ali Patberg with the 34th overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft in New York City. Patberg played and started in all 122 games for the Hoosiers from 2018-22 scoring 1,752 points which is 9th Indiana History. She dished out 528 assists which 3rd all time and pulled down 512 rebounds. She was one of three players to be a four-time All-Big Ten honoree Cindy Bumgarner and Jill Chapman. Led Indiana to three NCAA Tournament appearances including a pair of Sweet Sixteen and an Elite Eight appearance. had Patberg had seven years of eligibility and was the second-ever NCAA women’s basketball player to earn a seventh season. She started her career at Norte Dame and missed the 2015-16 season due to ACL Injury. In 2016-17 she played 22 games and averaged 7.7 minutes per game. She sat out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA Transfer rules as the Hoosiers won the 2018 WNIT Championship. Patberg was Indiana Miss Basketball in 2015 after leading Columbus North to IHSAA Class 4A Girls Basketball Championship her senior season.
The Fever Selected Baylor Power Forward NaLyssa Smith with second overall pick. Louisville Center Emily Engstler with the fourth overall pick. Stanford Shooting Guard Lexie Hull with the sixth overall pick and Baylor Center Queen Egbo with the tenth pick becoming the first team in WNBA History to have four picks in the First Round. The Fever took South Carolina Point Guard Destanni Henderson with the 20th overall pick in the second round. In the Third Round 6-4 Center Amesha Williams-Holiday from Jackson State was selected with the 25th overall pick and then Patberg was selected for a total of seven draft picks.
Kentucky Shooting Guard went Number 1 Overall to the Atlanta Dream. Veronica Burton a point guard from Northwestern went to Dallas. Kierstan Bell who started her career at Ohio State before transferring to Florida Gulf Coast was selected 11th overall to Las Vegas. Michigan State Shooting Guard was the final first round pick going 12th to Connecticut. Naz Hillmon was selected in the second pick by Atlanta with the 15th pick. Maya Dodson of Notre Dame was selected 26th overall in the 3rd round to Phoenix. And Macee Williams from IUPUI went to Phoenix at 32nd overall. Williams is from Veedersburg Indiana and played at Fountain Central High School. Indiana Hoosiers Nicole Cardano-Hillary and Aleska Gulbe were not selected in the 36-player draft, although it has been reported that Gulbe has accepted a tryout with the Connecticut Sun in their 2022 Training Camp.
Edgewood Grad and IU Freshman Softball’s Taylor Minnick Earns Big Ten Freshman of the Week
For the third straight week and fourth time this season, Indiana softball has the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. This time its Edgewood Grad and Bloomington’s own Taylor Minnick who earns her first career honor. Minnick hit .667 on the weekend in the Hoosiers sweep over Rutgers. Minnick recorded four hits, five runs, a home run and was walked five times. Her slugging percentage was 1.500 and her on base percentage was .818.
In the Hoosiers game against Rutgers on April 8 Minnick connected on her third home run of the season to help the Hoosiers to a 6-4 win over Rutgers. Minnick is hitting .542 through nine Big Ten games. Minnick leads the Big Ten in batting average (.463) and on base percentage (.585), ranks second in OPS (1.414) and third in slugging percentage (.829). Minnick is currently on a seven-game hit streak. In the Hoosiers game against Rutgers on April 9 the Hoosiers trailed 2-1 and Minnick had a key RBI double that started a four-run inning for Indiana.
Indiana Baseball Travels to Indiana State
The Indiana Hoosiers will head west on State Road 46 to take on the Indiana State Sycamores this evening at 6 pm atBob Warn Field in Terre Haute. Indiana and Indiana State will meet for the 113th time in program history. The Hoosiers are 65-46-1 all-time against the Sycamores with a 23-23-1 record in games played in Terre Haute. Over the last 25 meetings, the Hoosiers are 14-11 against the Sycamores. Tonight’s meeting at Indiana State, IU will play for the fourth time in the last five meetings at Bob Warn Field and own a four-game winning streak on the road versus ISU. Four of the last six meetings have been decided by two-or-fewer runs, including a 15-14 win by IU in 2019. Of the 112 meetings, IU and ISU have produced at least 15 runs combined in 36 of those. Indiana has reached double-digits on the scoreboard in 20 games versus Indiana State, but only two of those games have come in the last 25 meetings.
The Hoosiers are 12-18 on the season after dropping two out of three at Purdue over the weekend. The Hoosiers lost 17-0 on Saturday, they came back for a Sunday Doubleheader to win Game 1 10-3 and lose Game 2 16-15. Philip Glasser leads the team with a .333 batting average, 123 at bats, 29 runs, 41 hits and 8 doubles. Matthew Ellis leads the team with 12 home runs and 36 runs batted in. Glasser and Bobby Whalen have 2 triples each on the season. Edgewood Grad Ethan Vecrumba has scored 2 runs and RBI in just 5 games due to injury. Vecurmba has been walked three times. Pitcher Luke Hayden who played at Edgewood is 2-0 in 9 appearances with 3 starts. Hayden has thrown 9 innings allowing 8 hits and 9 runs. He has struck out 9 batters and allowed 12 walks.
The Sycamores went 4-0 last week with a series sweep of Valparaiso and a midweek win over the Purdue Boilermakers. Indiana State enters the week with a 19-8 overall record and a 5-1 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play after sweeping a three-game series at Valparaiso. The Sycamores have played just three midweek games this season and are a perfect 3-0 in those contests with wins over Purdue and Southeast Missouri State (twice). As a team, ISU is hitting .315 and averaging 7.5 runs per game on 11.2 hits per game. Sean Ross paces the offense with a .429 average and 25 RBIs. He paces the team with 13 doubles, as well. Josue Urdaneta owns a team-high 44 hits with a .383 average, while Jordan Schaffer is hitting .345 with a team-best 29 runs scored. The pitching staff has struck out 236 batters and walked only 90 over 238 innings of work and limit the opposition to a .260 batting average. Edgewood Grad Joke Kido who is a redshirt Sophomore has played 8 games this season for Indiana State going for 4-10 with 5 runs, a double and RBI. Kido has been limited due to injury has been walked 4 times and intentionally walked once.
Indianapolis Indians Coverage
Indians Travel to Saint Paul Saints for Series
After starting the season 4-2 the Indianapolis Indians hit the road this week to take on the Saint Paul Saints in a six-game series at CHS Field in Saint Paul Minnesota. The Indians and Saints will play Tonight through Friday at 7:37 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 3:07 pm. The Indians Beat the Omaha Storm Chasers 5-3 in Game 1 on Thursday, 3-2 on Friday, 7-1 on Saturday and 7-2 on Sunday. The Storm Chasers won 4-1 on opening night Tuesday and took Game 2 6-2.
The Saints are 5-1 on the season with their only loss coming against Louisville last Thursday 5-4. The Saints won 3-2 on opening night on Tuesday, 7-4 Wednesday, 7-1 on Friday, 11-1 on Saturday and 15-6 on Sunday.
The Indianapolis Indians Charities are matching will match your donation through Friday April 15th for the Indy RBI program. Over 35% of Indy RBI participants can’t afford the $25 registration to play ball. Donate today to help cover the necessary costs to ensure every child who wants to play, gets to play. You can donate at www.indyrbi.org
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